Airports Company South Africa thank authorities over conviction of armed robbers

Airports Company South Africa has thanked the South African Police Services and the National Prosecuting Authority on the conviction of three men responsible for the armed robbery at O. R. Tambo International Airport in March 2017.

In a statement, the airline said: “Following their conviction in the South Gauteng High Court, the three men received sentences of 15 years, 30 years and 45 years respectively.

“Airports Company South Africa is most appreciative of the tremendous work of the investigative team and the prosecutors in bringing to justice those responsible for this serious crime.

“The sentences imposed are significant and we hope that they will serve as a deterrent to those seeking to disrupt one of South Africa’s main ports of entry.

“The company’s security executive has followed both the investigation and trial. Important insights have been gained into the planning of the robbery. We do appreciate that even the best security systems can be compromised when individual links fail to do their jobs or become corrupted.

“Shortly after the robbery, certain procedures were changed, and we have considerably expanded monitoring of every part of the security system both inside and outside of the airport environment.”

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